Fresh Air, David Remnick and George Foreman

By: Terry Gross

Narrated by: Terry Gross

Journalist David Remnick and former two-time heavyweight champion of the world George Foreman on this edition of Fresh Air. David Remnick is the author of the book King of the World, about heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali. Remnick is editor of The New Yorker Magazine and is also the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Lenin's Tomb. In 1974, in what was called the "Rumble in the Jungle", Foreman took on Muhammad Ali in Zaire for the world heavyweight title. He entered the fight as a better than 3-1 favorite, but in a humiliating upset for Forman, Ali won and became world heavyweight champion. In 1995 Foreman wrote his autobiography: By George: The Autobiography of George Foreman, written with Joel Engel. Foreman staged a comeback in 1994, when he beat Michael Moorer to regain the title. In April 1995 Foreman defended the title against Axel Schultz. But Foreman was stripped of the title after refusing to fight. (Original broadcast dates: October 29, 1998 and June 7, 1995)

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